Successful Relationships

In order to have a successful relationship, there are some things that are to be expected from both parties. Now, this list can apply to both romantic relationships or other kinds, such as friendships and professional (business) relationships.

I started writing this topic because September 20, 2016 marks 4 years of my relationship with my boyfriend Dylan. 🙂 This has been my longest romantic relationship and I am hoping that it lasts a lot longer. A friend of mine and I were talking about relationships and they had mentioned a lack of respect in their current relationship. This made me wonder… What has made the relationships in my life strong? Why do I have some of the same closest friends I had since middle or high school? How am I lucky enough to keep an amazing guy by my side for 4 years? (Aww… *cues audience puking*)

Here’s a list of some ideas of mine for keeping relationships happy and strong.

RESPECT.

Now this is a BIG one. Every person in your life deserves to be respected, but SO DO YOU. If someone is not respecting who you are, your beliefs, your ideas, your body, ANYTHING… I would kick them to the curb. But Amanda, you may ask, they’ve been in my life so long, they don’t mean to hurt me. I don’t want to leave them. etc. etc. etc… You are allowed to cut negative people out of your life if all they are doing is bringing you down. If you’ve tried talking with them and demanding the respect you deserve (there is a way to demand nicely) and they refuse to listen, they don’t deserve you.

2. TRUST.

This is another BIG one. If you have trust issues with the person you are with, why are you with them? You should be able to completely and 100% trust the person you are with. That means no going behind their back and looking through their phone, questioning where they are every moment of every day, etc. Without trust, how can you be committed to someone? This goes for friendships as well. If you can’t trust a person to keep your secrets, not to steal from you, etc… Time to remove them from your life.

3. LOVE/INTIMACY

There’s love and intimacy of all different kinds- depending on the kind of relationship you have with the other person. Of course, when someone hears the word intimate, they tend to assume a more sexual meaning. Intimacy doesn’t have to be sexual- it could mean just caring about someone and being close to them. Even just having deep conversations with someone or sitting with them can be intimate. I love the people in my life, whether they’re my family, friends, coworkers, etc.

4. JOY.

Relationships aren’t always going to be perfect. You are going to disagree with someone at some point and get upset or angry. The majority of the time though, a relationship should make you feel good about yourself and bring you joy. Don’t let someone else take away your happiness.

Now these are just some things that I can think of off the top of my head that I wanted to share with you all. Hopefully these tips will help you in your daily life!